A SECOND petition calling on Barrhead’s local authority to reverse plans to scrap or hike prices of school breakfast clubs has been launched.

East Renfrewshire Council has taken the decision to drop the provision with schools being left to bring in third party providers of the popular morning service.

The third party service providers will see the price per child rise from 95p to £3.95.

Earlier last year parents at St John’s Primary School and other schools, received letters from the school asking them to give their thoughts on a restructured service, costing between four and five pounds a day.

However, mums and dads are concerned that the resulting costs – up to £100 a month – could be too much of a burden on families and that some youngsters will go hungry.

ERC has said that it will support any attempt by parents to set up breakfast clubs, but said the clubs were not set up to meet childcare needs.

The first online petition gathered almost 700 signatures, and now a second is gaining support almost four months after the original was launched.

Carrie McClure, author of the second petition, said: “As all of you may now have heard, from April 1 breakfast club prices are to hike to £3.95 from 95p.

“I use the breakfast club daily and there is no way I would ever be able to afford the new prices.

“People who work will no longer have the support of the club and will find it hard to make the change.

“Hopefully this petition will help people realise that this is a ridiculous amount of money to be paid for toast and milk.”

Other schools in the local authority area already have the same service provided by a third party company, and the cost was previously subsidised by ERC for the clubs, which run from 8am.

A spokeswoman for ERC previously said: “The decision was taken earlier this year to end the subsidy given to the small number of breakfast clubs in our schools that receive it.

“We fully appreciate the benefit of breakfast clubs to working parents, however they were not set up to meet childcare needs.

“We will be fully supportive of any parent groups who would like to set up and run their own breakfast clubs from next year and will work with them to ensure these can be established within our schools.”